Vertebrate paleontology

Paleontologists at work at the dinosaur site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain)

Vertebrate paleontology is the subfield of

timeline

, the animals of the past and their modern-day relatives.

The fossil record shows aspects of the meandering evolutionary path from early aquatic

stegocephalians

.

rhizodonts

.

During the

ray-finned fish diversified, leading to teleost

fish dominating the seas.

Ancestral

Neornithes) emerging in the Cretaceous between 100 Ma and 60 Ma.^[2]

The

squamates

and birds still lead in diversity.

History

One of the people who helped figure out the vertebrate progression was French zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), who realized that fossils found in older rock strata differed greatly from more recent fossils or modern animals. He published his findings in 1812 and, although he steadfastly refuted evolution, his work proved the (at the time) contested theory of extinction of species.^[3]

American mastodon and the woolly mammoth.^[7]

Paleontology really got started though, with the publication of

extant

organisms, as well as their history through time.
In modern times,
genera. Romer became the first president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in 1940, alongside co-founder Howard Chiu. An updated work that largely carried on the tradition from Romer, and by many considered definitive book on the subject was written by Robert L. Carroll
of McGill University, the 1988 text Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. Carroll was president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in 1983. The Society keeps its members informed on the latest discoveries through newsletters and the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Classification

vertebrates
at class level

The "traditional" vertebrate classification scheme employ
reptiles (Saurischian dinosaurs to be precise), but in this system both are listed as separate classes. Under phylogenetic nomenclature
, such an arrangement is unacceptable, though it offers excellent overview.
This classical scheme is still used in works where systematic overview is essential, e.g. Benton (1998), Hildebrand and Goslow (2001) and Knobill and Neill (2006).^[9]^[10]^[11] While mostly seen in general works, it is also still used in some specialist works like Fortuny & al. (2011).^[12]
Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum Chordata (vertebrates)
Class Agnatha (jawless fish)
Subclass
Cyclostomata (hagfish and lampreys
)

Subclass
Ostracodermi
(armoured jawless fish) †

Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)
Subclass Elasmobranchii (sharks and rayes)

Subclass Holocephali (chimaeras and extinct relatives)

Class
Placodermi
(armoured fish) †

Class Acanthodii ("spiny sharks", sometimes classified under bony fishes) †

Class Osteichthyes (bony fish)
Subclass Actinopterygii

Subclass Sarcopterygii

Class
Amphibia

Subclass Labyrinthodontia †

Subclass Lepospondyli †

Subclass Lissamphibia

Class
Reptilia

Subclass
Anapsida

Order Cotylosauria †

Order
Testudines

Subclass Synapsida
Order
Pelycosauria
†

Order Therapsida †

Subclass Euryapsida
Order Sauropterygia †

Order Ichthyosauria †

Subclass
Diapsida
(lizards & snakes too)
Order Crocodilia (crocodiles, alligators etc.)

Order
Sphenodontia
(Tuatara and relatives)

Order Squamata (Lizards and snakes)

Order Thecodonts †

Order
Pterosauria
†

Order Saurischia (dinosaurs) †

Order Ornithischia (dinosaurs) †

Class
Aves

Subclass Archaeornithes (primitive dinosaur-like birds like Archaeopteryx) †

Subclass
Neornithes
(modern birds and some advanced Cretaceous forms)
Superorder Odontognathae (Cretaceous toothed birds) †

Superorder
ratites
)

Superorder Neognathae (All other extant birds)

Class
Mammalia

Subclass Prototheria
Order
Monotremata (platypus and the echidnas
)

Subclass Theria
Infraclass Metatheria
Order
Marsupialia
(kangaroos, dunnarts, opossums, wombats etc.)

Infraclass Eutheria (placentals)
Order Insectivora

Order
Chiroptera
(bats)

Order Creodonta

Order Carnivora (dogs/cats)

Order Perissodactyla (horses)

Order
Artiodactyla
(cattle and other ungulates)

Order Proboscidea (elephants)

Order
Edentata

Order Cetacea (whales and dolphins)

Order Rodentia (mice, rats etc.)

Order Lagomorpha (rabbits)

Order
Primates
(monkeys, apes and primates)

The oVert Thematic Collections Network

The oVert (openVertebrate) Thematic Collection Network (TCN) is a project that aims to generate and distribute high-resolution digital three-dimensional data for internal anatomy across vertebrate diversity. The project will CT-scan over 20,000 fluid-preserved specimens, representing more than 80% of the living genera of vertebrates, at a network of digitization centers across the US. This collection of digital imagery and three-dimensional volumes will be open for exploration, download, and use to address questions related to the discovery of new species, documenting patterns of anatomical diversity and growth, and testing hypotheses of function and evolution.^[13]

See also

Paleontology portal

Evolution of fish

Evolution of mammals

Evolution of reptiles

References

S2CID 91497638
. Retrieved 13 August 2022.

^ Hackett, S.J., Kimball, R.T., Reddy, S., Bowie, R.C.K., Braun, E.L., Braun, M.J., Chojnowski, J.L., Cox, W.A., Han, K-L., Harshman, J., Huddleston, C.J., Marks, B.D., Miglia, K.J., Moore, W.S., Sheldon, F.H., Steadman, D.W., Witt, C.C. and Yuri T. (2008) A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history. Science. 320: 1763-1768.

^ Rudwick, Martin. Georges Cuvier, Fossil Bones, and Geological Catastrophes, (Chicago: Chicago University Press), 1997.

^ Jefferson, Thomas, "A Memoir on the Discovery of Certain Bones of a Quadruped of the Clawed Kind in the Western Parts of Virginia", Read before the American Philosophical Society, March 10, 1797. The "certain bones" consisted of three large claws and associated smaller bones. He theorized that they were the remains of an extinct lion which he named Megalonyx ("giant claw"). In 1799, Dr. Caspar Wistar correctly identified the remains as belonging to a giant ground sloth. In 1822 Wistar officially named it Megalonyx jeffersonii.

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society
, Vol. 4 pp. 246-260.

^ Wistar, Caspar (1799), "A Description of the Bones Deposited, by the President, in the Museum of the Society, and Represented in the Annexed Plates", Transactions, pp. 526-531, plates.

^ Rice, Howard C, Jr., "Jefferson's Gift of Fossils to the Museum of Natural History in Paris," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 95 (1958): 597-627.

^ Smith, C.H. (2005): Romer, Alfred Sherwood (United States 1894-1973), homepage from Western Kentucky University

^ Benton, M. J. (1998). "The quality of the fossil record of vertebrates". In Donovan, S. K.; Paul, C. R. C. (eds.). The adequacy of the fossil record. New York: Wiley. Fig. 2.

ISBN 0-471-29505-1
.

^ Neill, J.D., ed. (2006). Knobil and Neill’s Physiology of Reproduction. Vol. 2 (3rd ed.). Academic Press. p. 2177.

doi:10.5209/rev_JIGE.2011.v37.n1.5. Archived from the original
(PDF) on May 17, 2011.

^ "The oVert Thematic Collections Network // MorphoSource". www.morphosource.org. Retrieved 2024-03-12.

Further reading

Anderson, Jason S.; Sues, Hans-Dieter, eds. (2007). Major Transitions in Vertebrate Evolution. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press.
ISBN 978-0253349262
.

ISBN 978-0521478090
.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vertebrate_paleontology&oldid=1213349148"

[Kundrat2018-1] S2CID 91497638
. Retrieved 13 August 2022.

[2] Hackett, S.J., Kimball, R.T., Reddy, S., Bowie, R.C.K., Braun, E.L., Braun, M.J., Chojnowski, J.L., Cox, W.A., Han, K-L., Harshman, J., Huddleston, C.J., Marks, B.D., Miglia, K.J., Moore, W.S., Sheldon, F.H., Steadman, D.W., Witt, C.C. and Yuri T. (2008) A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history. Science. 320: 1763-1768.

[3] Rudwick, Martin. Georges Cuvier, Fossil Bones, and Geological Catastrophes, (Chicago: Chicago University Press), 1997.

[4] Jefferson, Thomas, "A Memoir on the Discovery of Certain Bones of a Quadruped of the Clawed Kind in the Western Parts of Virginia", Read before the American Philosophical Society, March 10, 1797. The "certain bones" consisted of three large claws and associated smaller bones. He theorized that they were the remains of an extinct lion which he named Megalonyx ("giant claw"). In 1799, Dr. Caspar Wistar correctly identified the remains as belonging to a giant ground sloth. In 1822 Wistar officially named it Megalonyx jeffersonii.

[5] Transactions of the American Philosophical Society
, Vol. 4 pp. 246-260.

[6] Wistar, Caspar (1799), "A Description of the Bones Deposited, by the President, in the Museum of the Society, and Represented in the Annexed Plates", Transactions, pp. 526-531, plates.

[7] Rice, Howard C, Jr., "Jefferson's Gift of Fossils to the Museum of Natural History in Paris," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 95 (1958): 597-627.

[8] Smith, C.H. (2005): Romer, Alfred Sherwood (United States 1894-1973), homepage from Western Kentucky University

[9] Benton, M. J. (1998). "The quality of the fossil record of vertebrates". In Donovan, S. K.; Paul, C. R. C. (eds.). The adequacy of the fossil record. New York: Wiley. Fig. 2.

[hilde-10] ISBN 0-471-29505-1
.

[11] Neill, J.D., ed. (2006). Knobil and Neill’s Physiology of Reproduction. Vol. 2 (3rd ed.). Academic Press. p. 2177.

[12] :10.5209/rev_JIGE.2011.v37.n1.5. Archived from the original
(PDF) on May 17, 2011.

[13] "The oVert Thematic Collections Network // MorphoSource". www.morphosource.org. Retrieved 2024-03-12.

[2]

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[7]

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[10]

[11]

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